Posts by wisdomfrombelow

43

Advice Needed - JW Grandparents

by What Now? in

my family has been out (inactive no meeting attendance or field service) for just over two years..

weve made many changes in our lives, including with our personal appearances (tattoos, piercings etc) that are a pretty obvious sign that we arent going back any time soon.

our families went through a period of time about a year ago when they made a lot of threats that if we left the truth, they wouldnt even be able to share a meal with us, they would stay loyal to jehovah etc.

wisdomfrombelow

Only you can decide if they would make good babysitters. Perhaps you might consider your kids only being with the relatives while you are with them. That way you can prevent any indoctrination. It does make a difference how old your children are when it comes to exposure to things you deem negative. Also, remember your kids will get exposed to a lot of different viewpoints in school and in life and you will have to navigate those as well. How you teach them to deal with diversity and differences in opinions and beliefs will shape how they will do the same in the future.

If they enjoy Christmas then you could explain how some people (like Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists) don't celebrate it but that is no reason for them not to enjoy it. They are under your care until they are adults but they are their own individuals and will make their own choices when they get older. All you can do is give the best guidance and all the love and hope for the best.

44

How do you manage to keep JW friendships after you left the organization?

by Bonsai in

jw
friends

it seems incredibly difficult.

those who leave the org.

(or fade) no longer have anything in common with jehovah's witnesses, nor do they want to stick around to get radiated by the fear and guilt that saturates every aspect of a witnesses' life.. i've lost all but one of my jw friends quite simply because i can no longer condone the evil things that they condone.

wisdomfrombelow

It is more difficult because I am disfellowshipped but I was surprised to keep a few active JW friends. They are close friends and real friends and I am thankful for that. They know that they can have consequences for associating with me but they accept that risk. I think many friendships are based on proximity but I find that living some distance away makes it much easier because I'm not in their congregation. My real friends accept me for who I am even if they don't agree with my choices and that is what makes them a real friend...not so much what religion they belong to.

32

If you were put in charge of the Governing Body tomorrow...

by FusionTheism in

if you were somehow magically put in-charge of the governing body tomorrow, by jesus, with the rules being, you could not teach anything that would be considered outright apostasy and you could not teach anything that would be considered to cause doubt about god's existence... (so as not to arouse suspicion).

what "new light" or "clarified understandings" would you introduce first?.

and which later on?.

wisdomfrombelow

I would probably institute a 2-way dialog with people being able to send comments and feedback via the jw.org website and do many more anonymous polls and surveys of the congregations. Then I would institute that names of the writers are listed for all articles just like they list the names of the speakers so people are held accountable for what they write. No more hiding behind anonymous written words. Not much of a change at all but something that the congregation could easily accept and then once they start to get empowerment it will be hard to stop it from growing.

16

Learners

by freemindfade in

if you were at the watchtower how many times did you hear this idiotic condescending word?

i think i must have heard it 500 times.

the learner.

wisdomfrombelow

In the educational context the word "student" is being replaced by "learner" in many instances. There are some differences between the two of them but in Watchtower land "student" brings up the connotation of "bible student" and hence someone usually not baptized yet. I did think they overused the term but I didn't find it as irritating. Perhaps apprentice would have been more appropriate.

1

The Revelation of New Light--The Need for Change (April 15, 2015 Study Edition)

by wisdomfrombelow in

paragraphs 16 and 17 might be an explanation to how new light grows and how change is done in the society.

in paragraph 16, "apparently, elisha did not feel that since he was now at the helm, he needed to change course right away...[he] showed due respect for his teacher..." then, in paragraph 17, "do not feel that as soon as you receive some responsibility...you need to change course--to do things in a way completely different from the way they were done before...change is determined by ...the needs...as you gain experience, you will no doubt share in...changes.".

they just keep doing things as they were before until they paint themselves into a corner and must react.

wisdomfrombelow

Paragraphs 16 and 17 might be an explanation to how new light grows and how change is done in the Society. In paragraph 16, "Apparently, Elisha did not feel that since he was now at the helm, he needed to change course right away...[he] showed due respect for his teacher..." Then, in paragraph 17, "Do not feel that as soon as you receive some responsibility...you need to change course--to do things in a way completely different from the way they were done before...change is determined by ...the needs...as you gain experience, you will no doubt share in...changes."

They just keep doing things as they were before until they paint themselves into a corner and must react. There is no real forethought or planning just reactionary behavior. There is also the feeling of pride and arrogance that they are now in charge and are better than those before them, after the appropriate "grieving period" and they will just do whatever they want. Revised bible? Why not? Sell Brooklyn properties? Of course.

GB 2.0 has told us that things would change a lot and they will continue to change. The re-branding will continue and the new wine will need new wineskins. Anyone who doesn't adjust will be left behind and trampled over.

46

Well another one leaves the Borg.

by John Aquila in

i took a quick trip to the store and i happened to see a young man (about 26-28 years old) who got baptized about the same time i was leaving- about 2 years ago.

a couple of pioneer sisters found him in the door to door work.

one of them, a very attractive girl.

wisdomfrombelow

I started writing my reply before you posted the comment about her age. (I multitask) I imagined her younger--maybe 20, so that is why I edited my post to say basically "nevermind". Adults can do whatever they like....

46

Well another one leaves the Borg.

by John Aquila in

i took a quick trip to the store and i happened to see a young man (about 26-28 years old) who got baptized about the same time i was leaving- about 2 years ago.

a couple of pioneer sisters found him in the door to door work.

one of them, a very attractive girl.

wisdomfrombelow

He thought it was ridiculous that the young pioneer sister (Who was interested in him) kept turning him down for silly reasons

I don't know where this took place but flying to New York or to San Diego seems like a big commitment. If she didn't have much money she would be completely at his mercy financially and maybe she didn't like that. Also, if she was attracted to him perhaps she didn't trust herself besides not trusting him. I don't think being in that circumstance and turning it down was a "silly reason" at all. I don't know her age but there might have been a difference in maturity besides the difference in education and experience in life.

Most of the other points he makes is valid but her turning him down is something that, from what you told, seems perfectly reasonable for an attractive young lady to do even if she didn't explain it in an articulate way for him to see her point of view.

edit -- now that you explained more about her after I wrote my post I will make no more comment about it since you know her very well

70

If They Stopped Shunning Tomorrow?

by cofty in

imagine that the cult decided to stop shunning family members on the proviso that the dfd person was not actively trying to attack the cult.. (please don't debate whether or not this is likely - it's hypothetical).

how would you respond to your family?.

personally i think i would be less than cooperative.

wisdomfrombelow

I would probably reach out and talk to some people I've known a long time. Some people I only speak with secretly I could speak with and visit openly. There are some people that might reach out and want to talk to me but there are definitely some I couldn't care less about. I see no reason to be purposefully rude but I also see no reason to be overly kind either.

8

Type and Antitype

by wisdomfrombelow in

i was looking for july 15th watchtower article today to use the words type and antitype but they didn't.

i wonder when they stopped using those phrases as it seems to be a few years.

who was the person who liked to use that word like the person who loved to use antediluvian?

wisdomfrombelow

They are for all intents and purposes "old light" now

4

Religious Freedom Laws...

by wisdomfrombelow in

jw
friends

i wonder if the religious freedom laws would allow active jws to discriminate against former jws?

could a business owner decide not to serve or sell to someone they consider "apostate" according to their beliefs?

if so it could take shunning to a whole new level in some states.

wisdomfrombelow

I wonder if the religious freedom laws would allow active JWs to discriminate against former JWs? Could a business owner decide not to serve or sell to someone they consider "apostate" according to their beliefs? If so it could take shunning to a whole new level in some states.